The Legend of The Boy Who Lived
by Kementari2010
Summary: Harry is fighting the war against Lord Voldemort with unexpected allies. This was originally written before the sixth book, so it does differ quite a bit.
1. Chapter 1

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting in the Gryffindor common room studying for their pre-holiday exams. Harry looked into the fire and started to doze off. "Harry, wake up. We have exams tomorrow. You have to study," Hermione said, pulling him out of his trance.

"What? Oh, sorry," he said, "What time is it?"

"It's ten minutes to midnight," Ron answered, "I'm going to bed."

"Yeah, me too." Harry followed. He looked at Hermione.

"Well, I'm not. I want to pass my exams," she snapped.

"Hermione, we can't learn anything if we don't get any sleep," Ron commented. Hermione ignored him and turned back to her work. Harry shrugged his shoulders and climbed the stairs to the boys' dormitory.

"Hermione is going to make herself sick if she keeps working this hard," Ron said.

"Yeah, but you know she won't listen to us," Harry replied.

Ron shrugged his shoulders and closed the bed curtains. Harry followed the example and fell asleep quickly. _He found himself walking past hundreds of dementors but, for some reason, they didn't affect him. The dementors changed into Death Eaters. As he walked past, they gave a small bow. He reached the center of the group and saw that he was surrounded by them. 'My Lord,' they called, 'My Lord, tell us.'_

Harry could feel something or someone searching through his memory.

_A cold voice that was not his own, spoke to the crowd. 'Many years ago I was told that a child would be born who would be able to destroy me forever. That was only part of the story. I now have the entire one. 'The one with the power the vanquish the Dark Lord approaches….born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies….and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal but he will have powers the Dark Lord knows not…..and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives….the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…. This my friends, is the prophecy we have been seeking. Harry Potter will die…'_

Harry forced himself awake. He sat up shaking and realized that he had forgotten to practice Occlumency before he had gone to sleep. He went to the window and looked out. His mistake had allowed Voldemort the key piece of information he needed in this war.

Harry could hear Ron snoring and wondered what it was like to sleep peacefully every night. He had always been jealous of Ron, ever since he had met him on the train to school. Ron grew up in a nice family, had lots of brothers, and didn't have a lot of people watching him wherever he went. Harry would have given anything to have grown up like that but instead he got the Dursleys and a curse. He looked down into the common room to find that Hermione had finally gone to bed. Harry sighed. He wished he could talk to Sirius again. If he were still alive, he would be a free man now and Harry would have a parent to confide in.

Harry was determined to stay awake until morning. Looking at the clock, he found that it was only four' o'clock. _A few more hours,_ he thought, _only a few more hours. _With that, he pulled out some books and proceeded to study.

Ron woke the next morning to find that Harry was already awake and dressed.

"Hey," yawned Ron, "you're up early."

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep," Harry replied.

"Oh, did Hermione ever go to bed?"

"I think so," Harry answered. He didn't want to tell Ron about his dream yet. Telling him and Hermione about the prophecy was hard enough. He didn't want to see the looks on their faces if he told them Voldemort had found it due to a slip on his part.

"C'mon, let's get breakfast," Ron suggested, "We have exams today." Harry nodded and left with him.

Dumbledore sought Harry out during the holidays at Grimmauld Place. With all the studying and exams, Harry had forgotten to tell him about his dream.

"Harry, is there anything bothering you? Your teachers have told me that you were quite distracted during your exams," Dumbledore started.

"I….well," Harry stammered, "The night before exams I fell asleep before… uh… practicing Occlumency."

"Yes, go on," Dumbledore said concerned, his eyes troubled.

"I had a dream and Voldemort was in it, and, uh, well,….. I was him again and I, no he told the Death Eaters the prophecy," Harry managed to get out.

"The whole thing?" Dumbledore asked.

"Y-yes," Harry stammered, "I'm so sorry."

Dumbledore shook his head, "No, don't be sorry. You tried your best to keep it from him."

They sat in silence for a while. Harry felt awful. It was his fault, it didn't matter what Dumbledore said. He had made the battle harder for himself.

"Perhaps Professor Ventrallis wouldn't mind giving you a few extra defense lessons. She could teach you quite a bit," Dumbledore suggested.

Harry nodded and Dumbledore left the room. There was something about Professor Ventrallis that he couldn't quite place. She looked young, yet she had knowledge that could rival Dumbledore's. Ventrallis had come out of hiding to teach a year and a half was the only defense teacher to last more than a year. She had also said that her family had been killed. in the first war. Dumbledore was right though, she would be able to teach him a lot. Harry wondered if Professor Ventrallis could teach him the Unforgivable curses. He had been trying to look for them in different books, but he hadn't been able to find much of anything. He knew the incantations for them but not how to conjure them.

"Hey, are you coming down to lunch or not?" Ron asked, poking his head in the room.

"Oh, yeah," Harry said, getting up.

Harry walked into the kitchen to see that Tonks, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Ventrallis were visiting for lunch. "Hello Harry. Enjoying your holiday?" Ventrallis asked.

"Yeah, it's okay," he answered. She nodded and turned to speak to Lupin.

"I think she likes him," Ron whispered to Harry.

Harry shook his head, "No, she's with Snape, remember?"

Ron shrugged his shoulders and continued eating. Harry couldn't believe that anyone could like Snape. He and Ron had found them kissing each other in an empty classroom by mistake the year before. Thankfully, Ron and Harry had been under the Invisibility Cloak so they weren't caught. Not long after, they had made their relationship known throughout the school. It was a mystery to the students what she saw in Snape, and, after a year of wondering, they had yet to figure it out.

"Is something bothering you, Harry?" Lupin asked.

Harry looked up, "What? Oh, no, not really." Lupin nodded and turned back to Ventrallis. Harry returned to his thoughts. Bellatrix Lestrange's words came to mind._ 'You have to mean them.' It can't be that,_ Harry thought,_ I've tried that already._

"Professor Ventrallis," Harry spoke up.

"Yes?" she answered.

"Do you know how to perform the Unforgivable curses?" he asked.

Professor Ventrallis thought for a moment, "Yes, I do. Why do you ask?"

"No reason really. I just want to know how to use them," he answered.

"Or, is it that you want to be able to use them against the Dark Lord the next time you meet?" she countered.

_There's no fooling her,_ Harry thought.

"Don't look so shocked Harry," Ventrallis laughed. "You are fighting a war against the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters. And I know that you are noble enough to have a reason for using Unforgivables."

"You don't know that much about me." Harry said coldly.

"You'd be surprised, Harry," she retorted.

Harry gave her a long look and left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry lay on his bed a week after Christmas thinking about his upcoming lesson with Ventrallis. He still didn't know what she meant by knowing about the reasons behind his actions. Why was she always able to guess what he was going to do?

"Harry?" Ginny said, pulling him out of his trance.

"What?"

"It's almost seven o' clock. You're going to be late to your lesson," Ginny said.

Harry looked at his watch, "Thanks for the warning, love," he kissed her goodbye as he rushed out of the dormitory.

"You are two minutes late," Professor Ventrallis greeted.

"I'm-so-sorry," Harry gasped.

Ventrallis smiled, "That's okay. A few minutes doesn't matter to me."

After Harry caught his breath, Professor Ventrallis spoke up.

"Now, you mentioned the Unforgivable curses before. You do recall that they are illegal, right?"

Harry nodded and she continued, "Then why is it you feel that you need to know them?"

"So that I can duel on the same level as Voldemort," Harry answered.

She nodded but didn't say anything.

"Professor, why don't you, like everyone else, flinch at the sound of Voldemort's name?" Harry asked.

"He killed almost everyone in my family, Harry. After something like that, it takes a lot more than a name to scare a person. Besides, fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," she answered, "Now, you didn't come here to talk, so let's get to work."

Harry returned to the common room two hours later, exhausted. He had gone over the basic shield and disarming charms, but Professor Ventrallis was a hard one to beat. Her reflexes were faster than lighting.

"So, how was your lesson?" Hermione asked.

"Tiring. She said I needed to work on my reflexes," Harry answered, "She wasn't kidding."

Hermione smiled, "Well, you'll get better at it."

Harry nodded his head and sat down next to Ginny on the couch.

"So why exactly are you being required to take this lesson?" Ginny questioned.

Harry stopped removing his homework from his bag, thought for a moment, then looked up.

"He found it." He said.

"Found what?" Ron asked.

"The prophecy. In my mind. I forgot to practice Occlumency about two weeks ago and I had a dream that I – he was telling it to his Death Eaters," Harry explained. The looks on their faces were just how he imagined them.

"So is that why you asked Professor Ventrallis about the Unforgivable curses?" Hermione questioned. Harry nodded.

"Why didn't you look it up in a book?" she asked.

"Yeah, Hermione. Let's put how to use the curses in books sold worldwide so even more people will become sadistic like You-Know-Who," Ron sneered.

"I was only trying to help but since you feel its unnecessary, Ron, I'm going to bed," Hermione said, "Good night."

"I think I'll go to bed, too," Ron said.

Ginny laid her head on Harry's shoulder and hugged him. Harry smiled and hugged her back. He loved her so much and couldn't believe how long it took him to figure it out.

"I suppose I will let you work on your homework," Ginny suggested.

Harry frowned but couldn't deny it. "Thanks, Ginny. I will see you in the morning then?"

"Of course. Good night."

She gave Harry a kiss before ascending the stairs to her room.

Harry turned back to his work. He wished Hermione hadn't gone to bed. He desperately needed help on his potions essay. As he looked up at the fire, the color of it changed to that of bright amethyst. Harry felt like he had gone deaf. He couldn't hear the fire crackling or the castle creaking. Standing up, he took out his wand and backed away from the fire as it began to swirl. The silence became deeper as the flames swirled faster and faster. A foot emerged from the flames a few seconds later, followed by the legs, torso, and the head of Lord Voldemort. Harry was frozen to the spot. He had no idea what to do.

"Surprised to see me, Harry?" Voldemort asked.

Harry couldn't speak. Voldemort laughed, "Didn't you know I would be coming for you once you let the Prophecy slip from your mind? You are such a foolish little boy, just like your father."

Harry shook his head, "No, you're the foolish one. Coming to find me at school, the school where Dumbledore resides."

Voldemort smiled, "Even if Dumbledore knows I'm here, he won't be able to save you. No one can get to us or hear us, and I'm not leaving until you are dead. Once you are gone, I will be invincible. Then I will kill Dumbledore and become the greatest sorcerer of all time."

"You're wrong. You will be the one to die, Riddle, not me," Harry replied.

"Very well. Let the duel begin," Voldemort challenged.

They bowed to each other and raised their wands.

"Crucio!" Voldemort yelled.

Harry wasn't quick enough to block the spell and it hit him in the stomach. It was pain beyond pain, just like always, and he could hear himself screaming. Voldemort released the spell after a few moments and allowed Harry to stand.

"Still think you can beat me Harry?" he laughed.

"Avada Kedrava!" Harry yelled.

The curse hit Voldemort in the chest and sent him flying. When he stood back up, his nose was bleeding.

"You have to mean the curse for it to work, Potter," he laughed, "You don't know what that means do you?"

Harry raised his wand but Voldemort was too quick. He hit Harry with the Cruciatus Curse again. Harry fell to the ground again, screaming in unbelievable pain. Again releasing the spell, Voldemort laughed.

"Do you want me to end it know or keep going?"

Harry stood shakily and faced him. His head was spinning but he answered.

"Let's keep going. You won't win."

Harry heard footsteps and muttering outside the tower. By the look on Voldemort's face, he could hear them too. Harry looked over at the door and Voldemort took that chance to hit Harry with the Cruciatus Curse a third time. Harry felt his mind going blank, dark. He wished he would pass out. The common room door opened and Dumbledore came rushing in. Harry felt the curse lift and fell into darkness.


End file.
